Location Manager Tom Reeves

walks us through a day in his life.

Location Manager Tom Reeves

walks us through a day in his life.

I still get pre-match nerves, thinking ‘have I forgotten anything?’ On shoot days it’s my job to be on set first. Film shoots start around 7.30am which means the caterers have to set up at 5.30, so I normally get up around 4 or 4.30am to be there to meet them.

I drive from my home in Brockley, South East London, but at that time of day traffic is not an issue. I might snatch a coffee at home if I’ve remembered to grind it the night before, but normally I just head out of the door. I’ll grab breakfast from the caterer’s later, porridge, or a ‘full veggie’ if I’m treating myself. As soon as I arrive I’ll be putting out signs, and telling everyone where to park up and unload so I have a supply of torches and lights handy.

It’s my job to make sure everyone on the location shoot knows where they should set up - whether it’s a camera trolley or a tea table. I work mostly on commercials which means that, in London, there is rarely room for the crew of fifty or sixty people at the shoot location, so we usually have to create a separate unit base nearby.

When I’m scouting for location houses I need to keep this in mind. I can’t put somewhere on a shortlist for a director unless I know the logistics are going to work. It’s important to sell locations to a director, I’ve been doing this job for about thirteen years but before that I was a photographer, so I try to take good photos when I recce; it’s nice to have some creative input. People think we want perfection in a location house but often it’s the lived-in look we’re after. An experienced locations agency, like Fresh Locations, understand that and are able to interpret our brief.

Prep days are calm and relaxing in comparison to shoot days although, with shrinking budgets we are doing less of those. But it’s always my job to ensure that the shoot location is always well protected. It’s particularly important if it’s someone’s home, you have to respect that. We move out furniture and protect floors with plastic or cardboard sheets and we’ll specify a water-only policy at the location house. The lead location manager doesn’t always get on set but I generally do, as I like to make sure everything’s done properly.

We’re very spoilt in this industry when it comes to food. For lunch there’s normally a delicious meat, fish and veggie option plus salads and puddings, I’ll try and choose a healthy option as I’m trying to take better care of myself. There are always tables laden with tempting snacks so you have to stay strong! Sometimes, when we’re against the clock it’s called a continuous working day, we can only grab ten minutes for a graze, especially if we’re switching to another location – a unit move – in the afternoon, which is common. Then I’ll drive ahead and start again with signs and setting up and leave an assistant to finish up at the first shoot location.

Filmmaking can be a strange beast, it’s the location managers job to translate its needs to the rest of the world – whether that’s the owners of a grand Chelsea location house, the residents on a council estate or a swimming pool manager. I have to relate to everyone and make sure they are all happy. Location managers need good people skills. But more than that, they need to be meticulous, a problem solver and completely unflappable. My inner catastrophist and perfectionist are working away all day, making sure I haven’t overlooked a thing. I need to have solutions to hand but sometimes you need to be able to say a tactful no. If the director asks if you can turn the lights off at Wembley Stadium because they’re affecting a shot, it’s time to say ‘sorry, we can’t do that’.

It can be exhausting work, a typical straight day for the main crew is 12 hours, 7.30 til 7.30. but for me the clearout might take another three-four hours so I’m there til 11 at night. We make sure that everything is put back in order at each film location, then walk around with the owner and check that they are completely happy with the location house as it is handed back to them.

I might have worked a 20 hour day but I often feel wired when I get home, so I take an hour to chill out, have a glass of wine or some sleepy tea and take stock before bedtime. It is a full-on way of working but the perks are good too. Right now I’m enjoying a month off, exploring Italy with my girlfriend – not many jobs will let you do that. But the best thing of all is the fantastic people I get to work with, you can’t beat the sense of camaraderie.